‘No doubt’ climate change is behind worsening heat waves, says UK health secretary

The UK’s health secretary on Monday said there is “no doubt” climate change is contributing to the increasingly severe heat waves affecting the UK and other parts of the world, as England and Wales recorded their driest July on record.

Speaking to broadcasters, Yvette Cooper said the country was facing the consequences of a changing climate while stressing the need for international cooperation to reduce the causes of global warming.

“There’s no doubt we are seeing the impact of climate change, not just here in the UK, but also we’ve seen that across Europe, we’ve seen that across the world as well,” she said.

Her comments came as England is experiencing another heat wave on Monday, with health authorities issuing alerts across much of the country as temperatures are forecast to reach 35C (95F).

Cooper said governments needed to address both the immediate effects of climate change and the long-term challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“And that means all of us have to work together. We have to deal with some of the consequences and ensure that all of us can respond. But we also have to tackle some of the causes,” she said.

Cooper added that the UK needed to continue working with other countries to accelerate the transition toward cleaner energy.

“And that means working internationally, as the UK has always done and always been a leader and working internationally in order to tackle climate change, and in order to make sure that we can shift to responsible, to renewable energy, to making sure that we work collectively around the globe to do that,” she said.

The remarks also renewed debate over the future of fossil fuel production in the UK, including possible expansion of oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.

Cooper was asked whether tackling climate change would mean ruling out further drilling, amid suggestions British Prime Minister Andy Burnham supports a different approach.

She said the government faced the challenge of balancing energy security, affordability and climate commitments.

“It means we have got to make sure that we’ve got both affordable energy and also that we are tackling climate change, and we have to be able to do both because we’ve seen the consequences all across the globe,” she said.